Mom
It took me 25 years to truly understand just what my parents, especially my mother sacrificed in order to provide a safe and loving home for me and my brother. I've always had love and respect for my mom but it grew by a million when I became a mother. At 25, I had just had my first child and I was learning quickly that motherhood would be the hardest title I'd ever hold. It was exciting and scary, all at the same time and you'll hear this time and time again, but it is the most rewarding.
This is my Mom
My parents moved to Canada in 1990 when I was just 3 and my brother was 2. She was a Pharmaceutical Manager in the Philippines and had a degree in Nursing. When we moved to Canada, she decided to get into Nursing and began working day and night shifts in a Vancouver nursing home. After a while, she switched to full-time night shifts so that she could be with my brother and I full time during the day since my Dad was always away on business trips.
When I became a Mother, I knew I wanted to be just like my Mom. I remember how she used to bring us a hot lunch almost every day. I loved sitting in the front seat of my Moms 1990 Sundance, listening to the latest 90's hits on the radio with my Mom. All of my friends wanted to come eat in the car too, which I thought was pretty cool. Every year on my birthday, she never missed bringing cake and candles to school. She always made me feel special. She did so much for the kids in our neighbourhood too and held a yearly Easter Egg Hunt where she made all of the treat bags from scratch! She filled the bags with dollar store gold and made sure every child in the neighbourhood wasn't left out. She hand painted and dipped each hardboiled egg (yes, super old school) for the hunt and they were all so beautiful. This isn't even half of what she did for us while we grew up and she did all of this while working nights and having only a few hours of sleep. I never heard her complain once and she ALWAYS had a smile on her face. Being a mother myself, I now see that she did this because she loved her kids. When I graduated from preschool and from elementary school, all I remember is seeing my Moms happy face! I could always spot it from a crowd, she was always there to cheer us on.
My Mother as a Mom, is Super Mom. She does it all with so much poise and grace too which I admire so much about her. She will tell you that she wasn't a perfect mom but to me and my brother, she is. Now that she's a Grandmother, she is a total super-Grandma! My kids adore her and can't get enough of her forehead Facetimes. Hah. We love her so and when she leaves us for one of her month-long getaways, we feel her absence and miss her immensely. Also, can I just add that she is the most stylish person I know? Every piece of clothing, shoe or accessory she gets me is one of my most complimented pieces. She's only 5'1 and she can rock any outfit she finds on Pinterest - Yep, even palazzo trousers! She. is. EVERYTHING.
Love you, Mom. Please know just how much you mean to me and my family.
Mother's Day
This years Mother's Day was my best Mother's Day yet! It all began on the Friday where my Son's class invited all of the Moms to a tea party. We had our hands massaged, played games, poured tea and ate cake. We sat around in a circle for a special story time book and we were surprised with a personalized video of our children saying why they loved their Moms. Chase had screamed, "I LOVE MOMMY!" as his response and my heart soared when I saw his handsome little face. He has the best smile.
There was even a photo backdrop that the teachers made! I love a good backdrop and prop.
He does too ;).
A special gift for the Moms
On Saturday evening we ate dinner in celebration for me at my kids request, Boston Pizza! They love that they can choose their own food (thanks to the picture menu) and that they can talk as loud as they want. This is the best photo I got with them. It's my new favourite.
On Sunday, we took my Mom out to a lovely brunch at the Moxies in Richmond. They had a breakfast and brunch menu that included a kids menu as well and their selection was delicious! I was pleasantly surprised as we don't typically go to Moxies but you can bet that after this, we'll be adding Moxies to our list of go-to restaurants.
After breakfast, we visited one of our favourite places, Burns Bog! Kylo came along and it was indeed a very happy Mother's Day since all my babies were with me!
Last and definitely not least, we spent the evening with my in-laws!
My Mother-in-law has been one of my biggest supporters since day one. She has taught me a lot about motherhood and I can't thank her enough for being there for me when navigating through motherhood and being a wife can get a little difficult. She is strong, loving and someone I admire. I love her so and can't thank my lucky stars enough that I married into her family.
Like my mom, she stayed at home for her kids which my husband says made all the difference for him and his siblings.
2018's Mother's Day weekend was the BEST!
Being surrounded by the people I love is the only thing I ask because to me,
family time is the best time.
Here's wishing all of you mamas out there a very happy Mother's Day!